Category: furniture.

I may have to seek a 12 step program soon.  I can see it now, “hello, my name is Linda and I am addicted to miniature dressers.”

But gosh, this one was so unique.  A different style completely from my other ones.  I just really had to have it.

I’m sure I overspent on it.  It was $55.  I should have negotiated.  I should have walked away.  But this is the problem with addictions, you just don’t care about the cost.  I guess there are worse things I could be addicted to though, right?

Once I got a good up close and in person look at this little dresser, I realized that it was originally painted, but had been stripped at some point.  Here is a message for all of those people who gasp whenever someone paints wood, guess what? some wood was meant to be painted all along.  This isn’t pretty wood.  I’m sure back in the 80’s when stripping paint was all the rage, someone stripped a perfectly fantastic vintage paint job from this dresser thinking they would find beautiful wood underneath.  Bummer.  And it was in my favorite shade of aqua too.  See …

But luckily I had a pretty good idea about how to restore an original looking paint job … with layers of milk paint.

First I wiped the dresser with a damp cloth.  I didn’t sand at all, because I was going to be fine with some chipping.  The surface felt really dry to me though, so I had a feeling it wasn’t going to chip much.  I started with a layer of Miss Mustard Seed’s Luckett’s Green.

Yep, as I suspected, no chipping.

Next I added some hemp oil.  I just dabbed a little on my finger and ran it around all of the edges.  Then I added two coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Linen.  I used a little blow drying (with a hair dryer) between coats to encourage my paint to chip (and it did chip in all the spots that were hit with the hemp oil).  Once the final coat was dry, I sanded lightly with 220 grit sandpaper, then finished with some furniture wax.

I also added a rub-on message to one of the drawers.  And it’s true, I am utterly happy with how this one turned out.

Just look at that chipping, talk about divine!  This is MMS milk paint at its finest.

The drawers all got lined with some pretty October Afternoon scrapbook paper.

The beauty of working on this little dresser was knowing that I was keeping it for myself, so I could do whatever I wanted with it.  This is totally my look; vintage, chippy, pretty, aqua and green.  Perfect for me.

 I’ve already made a place for this in the Q branch.

 It will be the perfect spot to store my rubber stamps and ink pads.  Now I will know exactly where they are whenever I need them.

Today I’m sharing some true trash to treasure projects (my favorite kind) with you.

  Last summer a lovely gal named Jen purchased a pretty yellow dresser from me via craigslist.  She wasn’t sure how she would get it home, so Mr. Q and I offered to deliver it for her and in exchange she gave me an old dresser that she found in her garage when she bought her house.  By the way, I also featured her darling house on Q.

The dresser in question was in pretty rough shape.  The former owner had started stripping the paint, but never finished.  Once I got it home and inspected it more closely, I realized that both of the lower drawers were fairly shot and had bottoms that were warped beyond repair.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, it was FREE after all!

Now, I’m going to make a confession, sometimes I have trouble thinking outside the box.  I have tried to work on developing this ability, but it does not come naturally to me.  This dresser is a case in point.  After realizing the drawers were shot, I threw a drop cloth over it and started using it as a painting bench.  It was six months later before it occurred to me that I could just remove the drawers and work without them.  Duh, right?  I know.  Now you all know my dirty secret, I’m not really as creative as I appear online.

Removing the drawers entirely meant I needed to have a new ‘bottom’ added to the dresser, so of course I called on my miracle handyman/neighbor Ken.  My first thought was to just add some fiber board and paint it, but then I remembered a stash of old bead board I have.  I knew they would lend the perfect vintage look!  Ken went above and beyond, as he always does, and notched the ends so that they fit into place perfectly.  He also removed all of the support pieces for the middle drawer.

I had completed the stripping job on the top of the dresser last summer, and I knew I was just going to wax it with some Cece Caldwell aging cream, so I decided I would also leave the bead board unpainted as well.

Here is the top after the application of wax.  Isn’t that veneer pretty?

That left me with two decisions to make.  Whether to paint over the red or not, and what color to paint the inside.  I’d had several people tell me how much they loved the look of the half-stripped red paint on the dresser.  It was basically pre-distressed without any work from me.  I’ve had mixed results trying to sell red pieces though.  Oh, how I wish this dresser were green or blue instead.  But, the red was just too delicious to cover up.  So I sanded it a little, waxed it and called it good.

Next I pulled out my Fusion samples and painted the inside in their Laurentien.  This was the perfect application for Fusion paint because it doesn’t require a top coat.  Have you ever had to wax the inside of something like this?  It pretty much is one of my least favorite things to do.  You feel like you practically have to crawl inside the thing to get that wax worked in.  In addition to not needing wax, the Laurentien also covered in one coat!  Eureka!  How fab is that?

I have always been a fan of the red/turquoise combo, how about you?

I added simple glass knobs from Hobby Lobby to the drawer.

By the way, have you noticed anything about my photos so far?  Yep!  I’m back in the photo cottage!

We are having an amazing March warm-up here in the Twin Cities.  The snow is gone, we’ve had brilliant sunshine and temps in the 60’s.  It is a spring miracle.  Woo hoo!

As I was setting the dresser up in the photo cottage, I decided I needed to add a little something more to the staging.  So I grabbed one of the metal industrial stools that nnK found for me (they were throwing them in the trash at the school where she works, so of course my number one spotter grabbed them for me).  I wiped it down with a damp paper towel and then painted on two coats of Laurentien.  After the paint was dry, I sanded the edges for a distressed look.

And that was it.  It was truly that simple.  No mixing, no measuring, no prepping, no waxing.

Now, you know me.  I love my chippy, distressed finishes.  Nothing will ever replace my MMS milk paint for giving me that look.  But it is a challenge to work with some times, and the results are always somewhat unpredictable.  Plus, it’s not always the right paint for every project.  I can see Fusion taking the place of chalk paint for me though.  Especially on projects like both of these.  It does take a little more elbow grease to distress than chalk paint, but I like not having to wax.  I should also mention that it flows off your brush like dream.  With chalk paint I always feel like I really have to work the paint with lots of passes with the brush.

Furthermore, I am totally loving this color, Laurentien.  I initially thought it would be too bright to use on anything of size, but I it totally works on both of these pieces.  I don’t know that I would ever paint an entire dresser in this color, but it works well for adding a pop of color.

 I’ve staged the dresser with some vintage suitcases and a pile of 50’s tablecloths inside, but you could also use some locker baskets or a wicker basket.  Some wooden fruit crates would be great as well.  You could also just fill it with stacked quilts, or even stacks of fabric if you have a sewing room or stacks of towels in a bathroom.

Quirky pieces like this add a ton of character to your home.  No one else will have one just like it.  And of course this is for sale.  Anyone interested?

Linking up with The Painted Drawer Inspiration Friday.

P.S.  A quick note.  Although the Fusion people sent me free samples of their products to try out, there were no strings attached.  They just asked me to try it.  All opinions in this post are my own and I am not being paid to provide them.

I purchased a fantastic french stencil a while back, and quite honestly I wasn’t paying any attention at all to what it said (not to mention that I don’t actually read  or speak any french).  I bought the stencil strictly for its looks.  Later I realized that it says “family and friends gather here”, which made me laugh since I was considering using it on a bedroom dresser.  Hmmm.  Probably not quite the right sentiment for the bedroom.

However, when it came time to paint this tiger oak buffet, I knew I needed to use this stencil!  Because family and friends do indeed tend to gather in the dining room.

Originally I had planned to paint this buffet with Miss Mustard Seed’s Kitchen Scale, like my own oak buffet (see it up there in my blog header).  But I decided I wanted a more subtle color to work with this stencil.  I would have loved to use one of Miss Mustard’s new European colors like Mora or Schloss, but I haven’t managed to get my hands on anything except the Layla’s Mint so far. So instead I mixed my own pale grey using approximately 1/3 c of Trophy and 2/3 c Ironstone.

I decided that rather than attempt to patch all of the chipped up veneer, I would just work with it and give the piece a very distressed, aged look.  After painting the first coat of my custom grey color, I found that there were also some stains on the top that were bleeding through the paint.

This gave me a great opportunity to try out Miss Mustard’s new product, the Tough Coat Sealer.  I simply brushed the sealer on over the spots that were bleeding through the paint.  I did not coat the entire top of the piece.  Once it was dry, I painted another coat of paint over the whole top.  There was definitely a great improvement, but I think a second coat of sealer would have eliminated the bleed through entirely.

But since I’m going for a rustic look, I decided to go with it at this point.  Or more accurately, I was running out of my custom color and didn’t have enough left to seal again, and the repaint the entire top, so I let it go.  Note to self:  next time try two coats of sealer before painting again.

After the second coat of paint on the entire piece, I added my stencils using Martha Stewart craft paint in Lake Fog.  I want to take a minute here to explain to you how I use just pieces of a stencil rather than the entire thing.  Here is my ‘family and friends’ stencil.

As you can see, I used just part of it on the doors of my buffet and then I used just the lower portion of the stencil on my lower drawer.

The sweet little leafy bits that are around the locks on the upper drawers came from a different stencil, this one.

It’s super simple to just mask off the portions of a stencil that you want to use with painters tape.  I do it all the time and it gives me a lot of new looks out of the same old stencil.  Since these stencils tend to be a bit pricey, it’s nice to be able to use them in different ways like this (and as a reminder to Patty, I get most of my stencils from Maison de Stencils).

To help support my distressed look for this buffet, I sanded with extra vigor around areas that would normally have some wear on an old piece such as around the key holes and on the knobs themselves.

Then I waxed the entire piece with Cece Caldwell’s clear wax.

The insides of the drawers on this piece were in rather pathetic condition as well.  Normally I don’t line my drawers, unless they are in this kind of condition and there is no better option than to just cover them up.  Luckily I had some lovely vintage wallpaper on hand that worked perfectly with the grey.

I’ve staged this piece for a wine and cheese party.

Wouldn’t it be fun the next time you have family and friends over to be able to serve them from this fab piece?!

This buffet still needs some help from my handyman Ken.  The mirrored back piece needs to be re-attached because it’s just not secure with its original screws.  I’m sure he will be able to shore it right up though.

The other day I saw an ad on craigslist for this pair of chairs (this is the seller’s picture that was with the ad).

Here is how my thought process went.  “Hey, those could be kind of fabulous!  Then again, maybe they are permanently ugly.  I know paint can do wonders, but is the shape all wrong?  And what are those weird pointy things sticking out of the back?  Will they come off?  And what is under those cushions?  Even though the upholstery is white, it still manages to be all wrong with that 80’s texture and sheen.  What will it take to re-fab these?  Should I?  or shouldn’t I?”

Then I did some research on pinterest and the closest I came to a similar chair that looked good was this chair from The Cross Decor & Design (although it appears to no longer be available).

And it’s not painted.  Mine will be painted.  But it still gave me a hint of what these chairs could look like.

After exchanging a couple of texts with the seller and finding out that yes, those back cushions are removable and there is cane beneath them, I decided to take a chance on these chairs.  Mr. Q and I drove out to pick them up on a frigid evening.  Upon seeing the chairs in person, I was still not sure about them.  They weren’t as nice as the cane back chair I painted last year that now resides in the Q Branch, but I had to remind myself that I wasn’t sure about that chair at first either.  The price was right, and I was there already, so I handed over the cash and threw them in the truck.

Here is my ‘before’ picture of one chair.

From the angle of my shot you can see that it has some pretty cabriole legs in front, and some nice curves on the arm supports that weren’t as apparent in the craigslist photo.  That back cushion is still just freaking me out though!  Not to mention the weird pointy details, which as it turns out are made of metal.

Those are definitely coming off!

Then there are the tacky arm sleeves that are velcroed in place.

Gotta go!

Here is the chair with those items removed.

Ahhhhh, getting better already.  I also found upholstered arms under those funky sleeves, and started ripping one off.  There are about a million staples holding it in place though, so that little process is going to take some patience.

I threw one of my H & M pillows on the chair just to get a feel for how it would look without back cushions.

Not bad, right?  Some paint and some new fabric on the seat cushions are going to do wonders for these chairs.

By the way, after I showed these chairs to Meggan, she sent me this.

Turns out that Joanna Gaines used them in the a recent episode of Fixer Upper, the Tire Swing House.  I hadn’t even noticed!  Well, if cane wing back chairs are good enough for Joanna, they are good enough for me!

Now I just have to decide, should I go for chippy with Miss Mustard Seed milk paint, or solid with chalk paint?

Remember the lovely tall dresser I picked up a while back and took its photo in the snow?

I pulled it out of storage for its makeover last weekend.  The shape of this dresser says ‘gentlemen’s chest’ to me.  Usually the taller dresser in a set was meant for the gent (sorry, couldn’t resist that bad rhyme).  I could easily have gone more feminine on this piece though, with those pretty curvy legs at the bottom.  But I was feeling the masculinity of this piece and went with MMS milk paint in Artissimo, which is a rich navy blue (finished with Cece Caldwell’s clear wax, which has rapidly become my favorite wax to work with).  I stripped the top and then just waxed it with the Cece Caldwell’s dark wax.

After adding a vintage suitcase and my dad’s old Tarzan books, I was getting the feeling that this dresser had a sense of adventure.

Then I added some old sheet music inside the upper drawer.

And now this dresser is ready to sail the seven seas!

How about you, are you ready for some adventure?

Linking up with:

Embracing Change

The client who purchased the gorgeous dresser that I painted in Duck Egg blue recently, also purchased the matching bed.  She’s not putting them in the same room though.  The dresser was for her own bedroom, and the bed is intended for her daughter’s bedroom and she wanted it painted white.  I am still a big fan of white painted furniture, although I don’t do as much of it as I used to.  I knew this bed would be gorgeous no matter what color it was painted though.

Am I right?

But let’s go back to the beginning of the story.  This bed had some damage on the footboard, which you can see here.

I sent it home with Ken for repairs.  He chiseled the break so that it was even, and then glued in a piece of wood to patch it.  Here is how it looked with the patch in place.

If you haven’t heard me say it before, I’ll say again, I am very lucky to have Ken for a neighbor.  He can do these sort of repairs in no time, and he does a beautiful job of it.

Here it is painted.  You can hardly even tell that there was a problem.

This foot board was really the piece that sold me on this entire bedroom set.  I have seen many beds with a foot board that curves around the bed, but I had never seen one that had side pieces quite like this.

Aren’t they just gorgeous?  The headboard on this bed is lovely too.

But the foot board is like a work of art.

I staged the bed with a stack of vintage suitcases, and you’ll recognize my faux french hat box from Monday’s post.

My client told me that her daughter loves everything french, so I couldn’t help adding a little surprise to the bed.

Do you see it?  There at the bottom?  A little Paris stencil that fit perfectly on that raised section of trim.

I think it added the perfect finishing touch to this lovely bed.

Linking up with:

French Country Cottage

Remember the really gorgeous bedroom set I picked up a while back?  I have been working on a custom paint job with a client on the dresser (and she is also purchasing the bed).  I have to say that coming up with a plan for the dresser was very much a collaborative effort.  We started out in a completely different direction, but once my client shared her vision for the entire room (this dresser is going to be part of a full makeover of her master bedroom) we were able to pull together a look that will work in the room.  One of the major considerations was another piece that she has, a gold antique french curio cabinet.  Something similar to this (although this is not her exact piece) …

I knew that she wanted a french look for the dresser, but once I saw this piece I realized she wanted what I consider a ‘Louis the XIV’ sort of french look.  We had originally talked about using black on the dresser, or possibly even a grey.  But I really couldn’t picture either of those colors working well with the gold piece.  The gold curio is clearly a statement piece and should be the standout in the room, but the dresser will also have a big presence.  I didn’t want them to compete, but instead work together.  At some point, my customer mentioned that she liked the idea of adding some gold to the dresser.  I’ll admit, I was not on board at first.  But then I started doing a little research on pinterest.  I even put together a new board called ‘go for the gold.’

This chair in particular sold me on the gold idea.  I realized that when done right, a touch of gold could be gorgeous.

Also, this made me feel like I finally had a clear idea of what my client was looking for.  Except instead of grey, we decided on Duck Egg blue, which will bring out some of the color in the mural on her curio (which is similar to the example above, with a gentlemen in a blue coat).  It’s also the color that she originally talked about wanting to bring into the room.

Which brings us to the resulting dresser.

I used a light hand to apply the gold Rub ‘n Buff to bring out the details on the dresser.

It’s enough gold to help tie this piece in with the curio cabinet.  I think the gold works really beautifully with the Duck Egg blue.

I staged this piece very simply with an old book that has the same look as the dresser, a duck egg blue with gold details, and a vintage clock.

The original hardware on this dresser is very pretty, and was already gold toned.  I just cleaned it up a little and put it back on.

Those little doors at the top of the dresser open to reveal two shelves inside.  I painted the interior to match.  Don’t you just love the curvy-ness of that opening?

I also love the little detail of these pretty brackets that sit at the back of the wider portion of the dresser.

I’m more than happy with how this dresser turned out in the end.  It was such a gorgeous piece to start with, so I wanted to do justice by it, and I think I did.  What do you say?

P.S.  That little french cane back chair with the gold accents from my pinterest board is going to be the inspiration for how I paint the vanity that matches this set.  But first I have to paint the bed.  Stay tuned.